Sydney Portei—Further Notes on Bare Pittas



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habit of appearing to waltz round and round very quickly ; it also

threw all its food out of the pot as soon as it was put in the aviary,

and then picked it up at its leisure. This, I think, caused its death,

as it picked up some dirt which caused mycosis. It never bathed,

but stood for long periods in the water. It was really one of the dirtiest

birds I have ever kept, but I was very sorry to lose it, for besides

being one of the most unique birds I have ever had, I may never get

the chance of ever getting another of these strange creatures. I think

this bird must have been caught in a snare, for there were two deep

wounds on its knees, but these were not noticeable unless the bird

was handled.


Muller’s Pitta {Pitta mulleri). This bird is a sub-species of the Black¬

headed Pitta (Pitta sordida), and these two birds have at various times

been classed as the same species. Up to now I do not think that any

one has had the chance of comparing living birds of the two species

together before, for the only example of P. mulleri brought to this

country was purchased by me from Mr. Goodfellow in the autumn

of 1930. When I first saw it, it struck me as being very much larger

and brighter in colour than my example of P. sordida, and comparing

the two birds together, the difference was very apparent.


Dried skins, shrunk and faded, would give little idea of the great

difference between the two birds. This bird is confined to Borneo, on

which island are found so many others of this beautiful group.


This Pitta came to me in a very poor condition, with its feet swollen

almost to the size of small marbles, indeed so swollen were they that

the bird was only able to hobble about on its tarsi. It was almost

dead through lack of food, and cold after a long and delayed journey

from London on a bitter winter’s day. We placed it in a cage with

a thick layer of leaf-mould over a radiator, so that it could rest more

comfortable, but in spite of everything we did it died in a few days,

a loss which I much regretted.


Baud’s Pitta ( Pitta haudi). This is one of the loveliest and the

rarest of the whole family. It is an amazingly coloured bird. Elliott

says in his monograph: “ This species in the vividness and depth of

its strongly contrasted colours must be regarded as the most striking

and beautiful of the Pittidse.”



